How can I clean the milky white coating from my son's tongue?

Q:My son is 2 and a half years old. His tongue is covered by a layer of mothers milk. It looks absolutely white. How can this be cleaned? How to keep his tongue clean? Will this create any problem?

A:Milk can coat baby's tongue for some time after feeding. This can easily be wiped off or would disappear spontaneously some time after feeding. If your baby's tongue is persistently covered with milk like coating it is likely to oral thrush, a common condition in young infants. The white coat in this situation is quite resistant to manual removal which if forcibly tried, can leave red raw tongue behind. Often without any symptoms, extensive oral thrush can make sucking difficult for the baby. This can be treated by local application of lotril or surfaz lotion 3-4 times per day. This can be applied with a finger tip after washing hands and spread gently on the tongue. The coating would clear in a few days.